FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: John James McGinty III ~ February 3, 2014

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

John James McGinty III
Info from here.

           

Captain John James McGinty III (January 21, 1940 – January 17, 2014) was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the United States militaries' highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for heroism during July 1966 in the Vietnam War.

John McGinty was born on January 21, 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts. He completed grammar school in Louisville, Kentucky in 1955, and attended high school in Louisville for a year and a half prior to enlisting in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on February 19, 1957.

Upon Discharging from the Marine Corps Reserve, he enlisted in the Marine Corps as active duty on March 3, 1958.

 He completed recruit training with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. He then went to advanced infantry combat training with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was promoted to private first class in September 1957, and was transferred to the 7th Infantry Company, USMCR, Louisville, Kentucky, to serve as a rifleman until March 1958.

Private First Class McGinty completed the Noncommissioned Officers Leadership School, Camp Pendleton, California in May 1958. He was then ordered to Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Station, Kodiak, Alaska until May 1959. While stationed in Alaska, he was promoted to Corporal in September 1958.

Transferred to the 1st Marine Division in June 1959, he saw duty as a rifleman leader, and later, squad leader with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Upon his return to the United States, he served as Guard/Company Police Sergeant, H&S Battalion, FMF, Atlantic, at Norfolk, Virginia, until March 1962. From there, he was ordered to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, and assigned duty as Drill Instructor, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion. He was promoted to Sergeant in August 1962.

From November 1964 until December 1965, Sgt McGinty saw duty as Assistant Brig Warden, Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia.

Sergeant McGinty was ordered to the West Coast for transfer to the Far East. Joining the 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam in April 1966, he served successively as a platoon sergeant and platoon commander, Company K, 3rd Battalion, as S-2 Officer and Operation Chief, H&S Company, 3rd Battalion, and as Operations Chief, with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines. It was in 1966, during Operation Hastings, that McGinty distinguished himself in the actions for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Upon his return to the United States in May 1967, he reported to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. He served as a drill instructor until his promotion to second lieutenant on August 8, 1967. The following day, he assumed his assignment as Series Officer, 1st Recruit Battalion, at the Recruit Depot, Parris Island.

On March 12, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to 2ndLt McGinty in a ceremony at the White House in which fellow Marine Robert J. Modrzejewski was also honored.

Captain McGinty retired from the Marine Corps in October 1976.

In the 1980s McGinty felt that there was a conflict between wearing his Medal of Honor (which bears the image of the Roman goddess Minerva) and his new-found Christian faith. Some news agencies reported that McGinty wanted to return his Medal of Honor.

McGinty's USMC M1911 pistol, mentioned in his Medal of Honor citation, was stolen from a display in 1978. In 2011, history buff George Berry purchased the pistol from an auction. Curious about the name engraved on the pistol, Berry contacted McGinty and subsequently returned the pistol to its rightful owner. McGinty sent back another M1911 pistol along with a Medal of Honor challenge coin in gratitude.

McGinty died at his home in Beaufort, South Carolina on January 17, 2014. The cause was bone cancer.

A complete list of his medals and decorations includes: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal with two bronze stars, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Medal of Honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Acting Platoon Leader, First Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, Third Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on 18 July 1966. Second Lieutenant (then Staff Sergeant) McGinty's platoon, which was providing rear security to protect the withdrawal of the battalion from a position which had been under attack for three days, came under heavy small arms, automatic weapons and mortar fire from an estimated enemy regiment. With each successive human wave which assaulted his thirty-two-man platoon during the four- hour battle, Second Lieutenant McGinty rallied his men to beat off the enemy. In one bitter assault, two of the squads became separated from the remainder of the platoon. With complete disregard for his safety, Second Lieutenant McGinty charged through intense automatic weapons and mortar fire to their position. Finding twenty men wounded and the medical corpsmen killed, he quickly reloaded ammunition magazines and weapons for the wounded men and directed their fire upon the enemy. Although he was painfully wounded as he moved to care for the disabled men, he continued to shout encouragement to his troops and to direct their fire so effectively that the attacking hordes were beaten off. When the enemy tried to out flank his position, he killed five of them at point-blank range with his pistol. When they again seemed on the verge of overrunning the small force, he skillfully adjusted artillery and air strikes within fifty yards of his position. This destructive fire power routed the enemy, who left an estimated 500 bodies on the battlefield. Second Lieutenant McGinty's personal heroism, indomitable leadership, selfless devotion to duty, and bold fighting spirit inspired his men to resist the repeated attacks by a fanatical enemy, reflected great credit upon himself, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[SandRat]

A great Marine.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

((((HUGS))))

[ken5050]

FReeping at halftime..wonderful post..many thanks.

I met him very briefly..at a reception when I was at Quantico fall 1968..It was the first ( and only) MoH I'd ever seen, let alone the person who received it. It's astonishing..your eyes are drawn to it... you literally can't stop staring at it..In some ways it's a tribute to the recipient, in other ways it's almost, well..... discourteous...and of course, we were all doing our best to catch a glimpse of a general officer saluting him first. We saw three..

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Sand...((HUGS))...hope you’ve had a good day.

He was, indeed, a great Marine.

[Kathy in Alaska]

United States Marine Corps Band ~ National Anthem

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please note: The author of the Hall of Heroes is StarCMC.

Please thank StarCMC for today’s thread.

~ Hall of Heroes: John James McGinty III ~

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[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

Resolve To Resolve
February 3, 2014

Read: Romans 14:1-13

Resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. —Romans 14:13

Bible in a Year:
Exodus 31-33; Matthew 22:1-22

I haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions since 1975. I haven’t needed any new ones—I’m still working on old ones like these: write at least a short note in my journal every day; make a strong effort to read my Bible and pray each day; organize my time; try to keep my room clean (this was before I had a whole house to keep clean).

This year, however, I am adding a new resolution that I found in Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (14:13). Although this resolution is old (about 2,000 years), it is one that we should renew annually. Like believers in Rome centuries ago, believers today sometimes make up rules for others to follow and insist on adherence to certain behaviors and beliefs that the Bible says little or nothing about. These “stumbling blocks” make it difficult for followers of Jesus to continue in the way of faith that He came to show us—that salvation is by grace not works (Gal. 2:16). It requires only that we trust in His death and resurrection for forgiveness.

We can celebrate this good news of Christ in the coming year by resolving not to set up hurdles that cause people to stumble.

Thank You, Lord, that You sent the Holy Spirit
to do the work of convincing and convicting.
May I be content with my own assignment:
to do what leads to peace and edification.

Faith is the hand that receives God’s gift, then faith is the feet that walk with God.

[yarddog]

My country neighbor when I live in Walton County, won the silver star for bravery in Viet Nam. He had it and the citation framed in his den.

I read it and thought to myself that he wasn’t all that far from getting the medal of honor. I imagine there was lots of bravery in that war.

[SandRat]

Good evening, Kathy...((HUGS))...had a good day.

Played with Nate, went to Lunch and had BBQ Ribs, while Nate entertained us all with his drawings on an Etch-A-Sketch, then came home from PHX to get ready for a week of Maddi.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...how did your church service go today?

How is Pastor Jerry going today after his accident?

[luvie]

RIP hero! Thanks, Galz, for honoring this, another great American military man!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Ken, and thank you for sharing your experience.

What a memory! What an honor!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Kate Smith ~ God Bless America

[left that other site]

Some big brawny bikers loaded the PA into Pastor Jerry’s pick-up truck and brought it to the service, so Jerry would not have to do any heavy lifting. Although he was in a lot of pain, he managed to give quite a fine sermon on the Epistle of James.

Although the Band didn’t rehearse this week, i was able to introduce a new song and it went well.

Wew make a lot of noise for a small trio! :-)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Congratulations...God will be pleased at your joyful noise and resourcefulness.

Congratulations on the success of the trio’s new song.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Still freezing?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Boy, are you a busy G-Pa!!

Such fun!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, yarddog...hope your day went well.

What a special neighbor you had.